Chapter 9
Chapter 9 In Chapter Questions: What process would you use if you were designing a new computer game? If I were designing a new computer game I would probably consider appealing to those who don’t have time to play. I would consider students who are extremely busy and see about making something to help them study. How would the process of determining system requirements differ if you were designing a new payroll system versus a new game? Payroll is something serious that is a must have within in an organization where a game is for fun. The payroll would be on a serious concept where you could have more fun dealing with the game. How important is system testing for an online game versus a traditional type of software, such as a payroll system? With the game you need to make sure the system can handle all of the graphics and that all of the skills expected to work actually do; where with payroll you just sort of need to check to be sure it will not be easily hacked. What does making the business case mean? The process of identifying, quantifying, and presenting the value provided by a system. Why has it been difficult to show that these vast expenditures on technologies have led to productivity gains? Because we are in a constant changing market, and because it is hard in the gaming industry to quantify exactly who will always be into the new games. Have information systems somehow failed us, promising increases in performance and productivity and then failing to deliver on that promise? Yes, a great example is at my accounting firm in which we used a system which was suppose to make us faster, but we ended up having to extend more client’s returns than ever before. If this is so, why have organizations not been able to show large productivity gains? Because many firms are measuring the wrong things. How much has online banking contributed to banking productivity? Online banking has made banking so much easier for some people because they never have to worry with their bills because it is automatically withdrawn at the right time. ''' Nevertheless, can you imagine a bank staying competitive without offering online services? '''I sill say no because the younger generations are all about the online banking, and they are almost making it so popular that eventually will we will no longer need to write checks because all companies will want to use online banking to do transfers. If it is so difficult to quantify the benefits of information systems for individual firms and for entire industries, why do managers continue to invest in information systems? Competitive pressure forces managers to invest in information systems whether they like it or not. You might ask, then, so why waste time making the business case for a system? Why not just build them? Given the vast number of potential systems and technologies that could be developed or acquired, a strong business case aids the decision-making process and helps direct resources in more strategic ways. Do you carry genes for chronic diseases that may make you bad risk for health insurance companies or for a potential employers who provide health insurance for their employees? I know that I carry the genes to develop cancer and to have a heart attack young. I know these two are very costly. Would you want to know if you carry the gene or genes for a fatal disease for which there is currently no treatment or cure, such as Alzheimer’s disease? Yes, I would want to know because I have seen someone live and die from Alzheimer’s, and if I would know that I would someday develop it I would start living life to the fullest so that when I do forget people could always say she live the best life she could. How ethical are mail-order genetic testing laboratories that offer genetic analyses without counseling to help clients interpret results? I mean the client knew what they were getting into before they ordered the test, and I think there needs to be dummy proof instructions on how to interpret the results so that the client does not get the wrong idea, but then that is about it. Is genetic testing another example of technology outpacing legal and ethical issues? No it is something much needed, and it has saved many lives. Sometimes, the pros outweigh the cons. How will knowing your genetic profile affect your life and your future? I would hope it would show me that you never know what will happen so live life to the fullest while you have the chance. And how can we protect such information form those who would abuse it? There is no way this can happen because today there are to many bad people who want to steal other people’s information. The question must be, then, why does all this maintenance occur? The maintenance occurs because things will cluttered if software is unkempt, and the maintenance occurs to keep the software up to date. Correct? Yes, but software must still be maintained. ' '''How do hackers find security holes?' Smart hackers may study an application until they recognize an entrance hole, while not-so-smart hackers simply “free ride” on the efforts of others by following “recipes” posted on hacker Web sites.' The solution? '''Microsoft tries to deter hackers from reverse engineering by withholding detailed information about patches for security holes for three months after discovery of the hole, but that strategy does not usually deter hackers. ' Are there situations where it is justified for hackers to find an exploit security holes in software?' It is expected if the hacker is a good hacker an is working for the company to help prevent the bad hackers from exploiting the security holes.' How many Web sites have you visited in which the content or layout seemed to change almost every day? I visit a few such as Facebook, and I am always getting some type of update daily for different phone apps to be upgraded. How does external acquisition of an information system work?' You have to do your research before you are ready to make a decision.' Do you simply walk into the first dealership you see, tell them you need a car, and see what they try to sell you?' No, normally you do your research about the cars you want before you go car shopping.' For example, how much can you afford to spend, what basic functionality is required, and approximately how many people will use the system? These are all good questions that one needs to research and know the answer to before they go to the dealership. Why outsourcing? Outsourcing helps organizations that are struggling trying to keep up with unfamiliar areas of expertise. What is the effect of the Internet on television and radio content? Today is that it has to be on the Internet before we will ever hear or see something either on the radio or on the TV. With revenues from advertising in traditional channels diminishing, how can television and radio stations continue to produce high-quality content? They rely on what they can sell from their Internet sites. Review Questions: Describe the productivity paradox. The observation that productivity increases at a rate that is lower than expected when new technologies are introduced. ''' Describe how to make a successful business case, contrasting faith-, fear-, and fact-based arguments. '''Faith based arguments are based on beliefs about organizational strategy, competitive advantage, industry forces, customer perceptions, market share, and so on. Fear based arguments are based on the notion that if the system is not implemented, the firm will lose out to the competition or worse, go out of business. Fact based arguments are based on data, quantitative analysis, and/or indisputable factors. Compare and contrast tangible and intangible benefits. Tangible benefits are relatively easily to determine. They can be estimated or proven in numbers. Intangible benefits are the real benefits, but they are harder to quantify with confidence. You have to use your perception for these. Contrast the perspectives of different shareholders involved in making information systems investment decisions. Management’s perspective is to be representatives or managers from each of the functional areas within the firm. Steering committee’s perspective is to be representatives from various interest groups within the organization (they may have their own agendas at stake when making investment decisions). User department’s perspective is to be representatives of the intended users of the system. The IS executive’s perspective is have overall responsibility for managing IS development, implementation, and maintenance of selected systems. ''' Define a proxy variable and give an example. '''Proxy variables can be used to measure changes in terms of their perceived value to the organization. Example, if mundane administrative tasks are seen as a low value but direct contact with customers is seen as a high value, you can use these perceptions to indicate how new systems will add value to the organization. What are the five phases of the systems development life cycle (SDLC)? 1. Systems planning and selection 2. Systems analysis 3. Systems design 4. Systems implementation and operation 5. Systems maintenance List and describe five techniques used in requirements collection. Interviews- analysts interview people informed about the operation and issues of the current or proposed system. Questionnaires- analysts design and administer surveys to gather opinions from people informed about the operation and issues of the current or proposed system. Observations- analysts observe workers at selected times to see how data are handled and what information people need to do their jobs. Document analysis- analysts study business documents to discover issues, policies, and rules as well as concrete examples of the use of data and information in the organization. Joint application design- JAD is a group meeting-based process for requirements collection. What are the three major components/tasks of the systems design phase of the SDLC? Designing the Human-Computer Interface, Designing Databases and Files, Designing Processing and Logic What are the four options for system conversion? How do they differ from each other? Parallel, which consists of old and new systems that are used at the same time. Direct, which consists of old system is discontinued on one day, and the new is used the next. Phased, which parts of the new system are implemented over time. Pilot (single location), which the entire system is used in one location. Compare and contrast the four types of systems maintenance. Corrective maintenance is making changes to an information system to repair flaws in the design, coding, or implementation. Adaptive maintenance is making changes to an information system to evolve its functionality, to accommodate changing business needs, or to migrate it to a different operating environment. Perfective maintenance is making enhancements to improve processing performance or interface usability, or adding desired but not necessarily required system features (in other words, “bells and whistles”). Preventive maintenance is making changes to a system to reduce the chance of future system failure. What are the advantages and disadvantages of prototyping?' The main advantage is that you can try something before you purchase it. The main disadvantage is that the user may not like the product. ' Define outsourcing and list three general types of outsourcing relationships. The moving of routine jobs and/or tasks to people in another firm to reduce costs. Basic relationship, Preferred relationship, Strategic relationship What are some of the reasons outsourcing is more popular than ever? Cost and Quality concerns, Problems in IS Performance, Supplier pressures, Simplifying, Downsizing, and Reengineering, Financial factors, Organizational culture, Internal Irritants. ''' What are the three recommendations made in this chapter for managing an IS outsourcing relationship? '''1. A strong, active chief information officer (CIO) and staff should continually manage the legal and professional relationship with the outsourcing firm. 2.Clear, realistic performance measurements of the systems and of the outsourcing arrangement, such as a tangible and intangible costs and benefits, should be developed. 3.The interface between the customer and outsourcer should have multiple levels (e.g., links to deals with policy and relationship issues and links to deal with operational and tactical issues). List and describe two main types of software licenses. Shrink-wrap licenses, which in named because the contract is activated when the shrink-wrap on the packaging has been removed; similarly, a click-wrap licenses revers to a license primarily used for downloaded software that requires computer users to click on “I accept before installing the software. The second type is an enterprise licenses, which vary greatly because they are negotiated. What is software asset management, and why is it important for organizations?' It helps organizations to avoid such negative consequences. It usually consists of a set of activities, such as performing a software inventory, matching the installed software with licenses, reviewing software-related policies and procedures, and creating a software asset management plan.' What is the system benchmarking, and what are some common benchmarks? It is a method that can be used to evaluate a proposed system. It is the use of standardized performance tests to facilitate comparison between systems. Some common system benchmarks include: response time give a specified number of users, time to sort records, time to retrieve a set of records, time to produce a given report, and time to read in a set of data. Self-Study Questions: Which of the following is not one of the five phases of the systems development life cycle? D. systems resource acquisition _____________ is the process of gathering and organizing information from users, mangers, business processes, and documents to understand how a proposed information system should function. A. Requirements collection Which of the following is the correct order of phases in the systems development life cycle? C. planning, analysis, design, implementation, maintenance In the systems design phase, the elements that must be designed when building an information system include all of the following except ____________. B. questionnaires _______________ maintenance involves making enhancements to improve processing performance or interface usability or adding desired (but not necessarily required) system features (in other words, “bells and whistles”). B. Perfective Which of the following is not one of the three types of arguments commonly made in the business case of an information system? D. Fun A __________ is a report that an organization uses to tell vendors what its requirements are and to invite them to provide information about how they might be able to meet those requirements. C. Request for proposal Which of the following is not a type of outsourcing? B. elite Which of the following factors is a good reason to outsource? D. all of the above (problems in IS performance, supplier pressures, financial factors) Most competitive external acquisition processes have at least five general steps. Which of the following is not one of those steps? D. implementation Problems and Exercises: Match the flowing terms with the appropriate definitions: Request for proposal- l. a report that is used to tell vendors that requirements are and to invite them to provide information about how they might be able to meet those requirements. Systems benchmarking- k. a way to evaluate a proposed system by testing a portion of it with the system workload Alpha testing- e. testing performed by the development organization to assess whether the entire system meets the design requirements of the users Systems development life-cycle- b. term that describes the life of an information system from conception to retirement Productivity paradox- i. the observation that productivity increase at a rate that is lower than expected when new technologies are introduced Prototyping- g. a systems development methodology that uses a trial-and-error approach for discovering how a system should operate Pilot conversion- f. using a new system in one location before rolling it out to the entire organization Systems analysis- c. the second phase of the systems development life cycle Outsourcing- h. the practice of turning over responsibility for some or all of an organization’s information systems development and operations to an outside firm External acquisition- j. the process of purchasing an existing system from an outside vendor Data flows- a. the movement of data through an organization or within an information system Requirements collection- d. the process of gathering and organizing information from users, managers, business processes, and documents to understand how a proposed information system should function. 5. Why can it be difficult to develop an accurate cost-benefit analysis? It can be difficult because costs are always changing, and because the benefit you get form an item may not be the same benefit you get the next time you choose that item. What factors may be difficult to quantify? Having to rely on some of the intangible costs and benefits make this hard to quantify. '''How can this be handled? '''By relying more on the calculations that have tangible costs and benefits. '''Is this something that should just be avoided altogether? '''No because you clearly need the information that these calculations provide to know just how well your company is doing. '''What are the consequences of that approach? '''Knowing that some of your information may be based on perception rather than on actual proven numerical data. 11. Contrast the differing perspectives of different stakeholders involved in making information systems investment decisions.' Management’s perspective is to be representatives or managers from each of the functional areas within the firm; they are in a greater strategic focus, largest project sizes, longest project durations. Steering committee’s perspective is to be representatives from various interest groups within the organization (they may have their own agendas at stake when making investment decisions); they are in a cross-functional focus, greater organizational change, formal cost-benefit analysis, larger and riskier projects. User department’s perspective is to be representatives of the intended users of the system; they are in a narrow, nonstrategic focus, faster development. The IS executive’s perspective is have overall responsibility for managing IS development, implementation, and maintenance of selected systems; they are in a focus on integration with existing systems, fewer development delays, less concern with cost-benefit analysis.' Case 2: What are the pros and cons of having so much open source software enabling the Internet? It allows things to improve because once you find a correction then you can correct it to help others from having the same problem you were faced with. To many people can constantly lead to contradicting ideas and usage. ''' For what types of applications do you thing open source is better than non-source software? When is it worse? '''I would say it is better for instances when you need to run a company’s own software because one person my know a critique when someone else does not, also for school organizations because one teacher may be able to help edit information that the IT department would never know to think about. It is not a good thing when absolutely anyone can edit the data on the World Wide Web. To many ideas lead to damaging for future users. Find a for-profit company that is distributing open source software. What is the software? How does the company make money? Is its revue model sustainable? Red Hat. It charges a fee for the support, maintenance, and installation for those who cannot complete the task themselves. No, the revenue model is not sustainable because of the fact that they do no allow room for the company to grown and invest in future ideas. Do you use open source software on your personal computer, such a Linux operating system or Firefox browser? Why or why not? Yes, I use Firefox. I use Firefox because it is more compatible with some of my school applications such as blackboard, and because Firefox is better for taking exams online.